The 18th Man Column...Which players would make a Super League dream team?

Wigan fan Darren Wrudd talks about his Super League dream team and which Warriors players would make the cut.

Darren Wrudd: A dream team based on my thoughts of this year’s performances puts a little pressure on if I am honest.

s if I was to select my team, I too would be judged by the fans for my glaring errors, so while you read on, have a think of your own preferences too.

Listed in order from the back: Zak Hardaker, Ash Handley, Mark Percival, Peter Mata’utia, Liam Marshall, Jonny Lomax, Jackson Hastings, Tevita Satae, Sam Powell, Ollie Partington, Liam Farrell ( c), Willie Isa and at loose forward Adam Milner.

Hardaker I think is the best full back in the comp, bar none.

His one-on-one defence is a brick wall and it takes a lot to get by him.

Centres need to be creative and fast and both of those boxes are ticked with Percival and Mata’utia, the latter ticking the boxes twice at least!

Half backs don’t come any more reliable than Jonny Lomax although it pains me to say it.

The lad is made of tough stuff and pops up everywhere you didn’t see him coming from.

Jackson Hastings is what rugby league is all about. Both on and off the field he is a credit to the sport, and I just dearly wish we could have had him here for another year at least.

Milner gets a call up at the back of the pack as he is such a competitive and industrious player with a great engine on him while Tevita Satae from Hull FC is the player I would least

like to tackle in the whole league.

I am unapologetic about the very Wigan bias of the rest of the pack as I think you simply cannot argue with Farrell, Isa (who has been sublime this year) Ollie Partington – the enforcer – and finally, the bedrock of a good Wigan performance, Sam Powell.

I feel we are so lucky at Wigan to have such high-quality players all round that, with a little better luck with injuries, we could have a special run coming up.

However, for the year 2021, this would be my overall dream team.

As a caveat, if we were allowed to pick an 18th man to complete the line up, I would have to select Jake Mamo.

I know many don’t like him but he has such a joy for the game and seems to genuinely get a thrill out of the experience.

He is super fast, instinctive and with such a contagious enthusiasm his mere presence would lift any squad.